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Full of fall flavors and colors, this harvest fall quinoa salad tosses fluffy quinoa with roasted butternut squash, Brussels sprouts, red onion, crisp apple, and kale in a simple orange dressing. It’s hearty enough for a main and perfect for your holiday table!
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It’s meal-prep friendly, easy to customize, and delicious warm or chilled, so it’s a crowd-pleasing salad for Thanksgiving, potlucks, and fall dinners.
Quick Glance
- Recipe Name: Fall Quinoa Salad
- Why You’ll Love It: A hearty, colorful harvest salad with roasted fall veggies and a simple orange dressing.
- Time and Difficulty: 15 minutes of prep and 30 minutes of cooking, easy.
- Main Ingredients: Quinoa, butternut squash, Brussels sprouts, red onion, garlic, apple, baby kale, pumpkin seeds, and orange juice.
- Method: Roast the vegetables and garlic, cook the quinoa, whisk the dressing, and toss.
- Texture and Flavor: Nutty, sweet, and savory, with crisp apple and crunchy pumpkin seeds.
- Quick Tip: Toss the kale with the warm quinoa so it wilts slightly.
Table of Contents
What Makes This Fall Quinoa Salad So Good
With nutty quinoa, roasted fall veggies (a delicious way to use up Thanksgiving leftovers, too!), crisp apple, nutrient-rich kale, and a fresh orange dressing, this hearty fall quinoa salad is a must-have dish this season. It brings together the best of the harvest in every satisfying bite.
- Roasted garlic: A whole head of garlic roasts with the veggies and gets mashed into the quinoa for sweet, mellow flavor.
- Warm or chilled: Serve it right away or straight from the fridge.
- Meal-prep friendly: It keeps well in the fridge for lunches all week.
- Easy to customize: Swap in your favorite fall veggies, fruit, or toppings.
- More quinoa salads: You might also enjoy my kale quinoa salad or roasted beet and quinoa salad. When citrus season hits, try my winter quinoa salad with grapefruit and avocado.
Fall Quinoa Salad Ingredients
You’ll find the full amounts in the recipe card below.
- Quinoa: Rinse it well before cooking. White, red, or tricolor quinoa all work.
- Vegetable bouillon: A low-sodium bouillon cube adds savory flavor to the quinoa.
- Butternut squash: Peel and cut it into 1-inch (2.5 cm) cubes, or use pre-cut squash to save time.
- Brussels sprouts: Trimmed and halved.
- Red onion: Cut into wedges.
- Garlic: A whole head, with the top sliced off so it roasts soft and creamy.
- Seasonings: Italian seasoning for the Brussels sprouts, pumpkin pie spice for the squash, and kosher salt.
- Olive oil: For roasting the veggies and for the dressing.
- Baby kale: Or baby arugula or spinach. Love arugula with fruit? Try my Fuyu persimmon salad.
- Apple: A large, crisp apple, diced.
- Pumpkin seeds: For crunch.
- Orange dressing: Orange juice, olive oil, Dijon mustard, water, salt, and pepper.
Recipe Variations
- Dried cranberries: For sweetness and chew.
- Pomegranate: For bursts of sweet-tart, juicy flavor.
- Chickpeas: Add protein and fiber with canned chickpeas or crispy air fryer chickpeas.
- Nuts: Toasted pecans or walnuts add crunch.
- Avocado: For creaminess and healthy fats.
- Other veggies: Like oven charred broccoli, roasted beets, or thinly shaved raw Brussels sprouts.
- Tofu feta: Sprinkle tofu feta cheese over the top for rich, tangy flavor.
- Roasted garlic dressing: Blend the roasted garlic right into the dressing.
- Sweetener: Add a little maple syrup or agave to the dressing, to taste.
- Vinegar: Add a splash of balsamic or apple cider vinegar for extra tang.
- Creamy dressing: Try this easy miso tahini dressing.
How to Make Fall Quinoa Salad
Step 1: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C) and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone mat. Halve the Brussels sprouts, cut the onion into wedges, and cube the squash. Slice the top off the head of garlic. Spread everything on the baking sheet, keeping each vegetable in its own section.
Step 2: Sprinkle Italian seasoning over the Brussels sprouts and pumpkin pie spice over the squash. Season everything with salt and drizzle with olive oil, including right into the cut garlic. Roast for 25 to 30 minutes, until tender and a little charred.
Step 3: Meanwhile, add the rinsed quinoa, water, and bouillon to a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil, cover, and simmer for 15 minutes. Turn off the heat and let it sit, covered, for 10 minutes.
PRO TIP: For a nuttier flavor, lightly toast the rinsed quinoa in the saucepan until fragrant before adding the water.
Step 5: Once the garlic is cool enough to handle, squeeze the cloves out of the head and mash them with a fork. Core and dice the apple.
Step 6: Add the quinoa to the bowl with a splash of the dressing and some of the garlic, and mix well. Stir in the kale, then toss in half of the roasted veggies and apple. Top with the rest of the veggies and apple and the pumpkin seeds. Serve with the dressing on the side. Enjoy!
PRO TIP: If the quinoa has cooled before you add the kale, massage the kale with a little dressing first to soften it.
Fall Quinoa Salad FAQs
Absolutely! Just add the apple and pumpkin seeds right before serving so they stay crisp.
If the squash is very firm, microwave it for 30 seconds to make it easier to cut. Slice off the top and bottom, peel it with a vegetable peeler, and cut it in half lengthwise. Scoop out the seeds, then cut it into strips and dice it into cubes.
Yes! Roast the vegetables, cook the quinoa, and make the dressing up to a few days ahead. Store them separately in the fridge, then toss everything together with the apple and pumpkin seeds right before serving.
Baby arugula or baby spinach both work. Toss them with the warm quinoa so they wilt slightly.
Quinoa is naturally gluten-free. Just check that your bouillon cube is gluten-free, too.
Toni’s Recipe Tips
- Toast the quinoa: Toasting it until fragrant before cooking brings out its nutty flavor.
- Dress it while warm: Add up to a third of the dressing to the warm quinoa so it soaks up the flavor, and serve the rest on the side. Adding all of it at once makes the quinoa soggy.
- Cut the squash evenly: Even cubes roast evenly. Pre-cut squash saves time, but check that the pieces are a similar size.
- Keep the veggies separate: Roasting each vegetable in its own section lets you season them differently.
- Keep the apple crisp: Dice it just before serving, or toss it with a little of the orange dressing.
Serving Suggestions
Enjoy this fall harvest quinoa salad warm or chilled, as a side or a main, with:
- Protein: Like pan-fried garlic tofu or vegan chick’n.
- Soup: Like easy vegan pumpkin soup, hearty pureed veggie soup, or creamy vegan tomato basil soup.
- Bread: Like easy vegan dinner rolls or sweet potato cornbread.
- A sandwich: Like a sweet potato sandwich.
Make Ahead and Storage
- Fridge: Store the cooled salad and the dressing separately in airtight containers in the fridge for 3 to 5 days.
- Freezer: Freeze the cooked quinoa and roasted veggies (separately is best) in freezer-safe containers or bags for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge.
More Fall Salads and Sides
Vegan Side Dishes
Easy Butternut Squash Salad
Vegan Dinners
Vegan Stuffed Butternut Squash
Vegan Dinners
Vegan Quinoa Stuffed Acorn Squash
Salads
Persimmon Salad
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Fall Quinoa Salad
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Ingredients
- 1 pound (450 g) Brussels sprouts trimmed and halved
- 2 pounds (900 g) butternut squash peeled and cubed
- 1 red onion cut into wedges
- 1 head of garlic top sliced off, about ½ inch (1 cm)
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- ½ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 3 Tablespoons (45 ml) olive oil
- 1 cup (170 g) quinoa uncooked, rinsed
- 1 ¾ cups (415 ml) water
- 1 low-sodium vegetable bouillon cube
- 2 cups (480 ml) baby kale or baby arugula
- 1 large apple diced
- ¼ cup (60 ml) pumpkin seeds
Dressing
- 2 Tablespoons (30 ml) olive oil
- ½ teaspoon Dijon mustard
- ¼ cup (60 ml) orange juice
- 2 Tablespoons (30 ml) water
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone mat.
- Place the Brussels sprouts, butternut squash, onion, and garlic on the baking sheet, keeping each in its own section.
- Sprinkle the Italian seasoning over the Brussels sprouts and the pumpkin pie spice over the squash. Sprinkle everything with the salt and drizzle with the olive oil, including into the cut garlic. Toss each section to coat, keeping them separate.
- Roast for 25 to 30 minutes, until tender and lightly charred.
- Meanwhile, add the quinoa, water, and bouillon cube to a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil, cover, and simmer for 15 minutes. Turn off the heat and let it rest, covered, for 10 minutes.
- Whisk the dressing ingredients together in a large salad bowl. Pour about two thirds of it into a jar to serve on the side, leaving the rest in the bowl.
- Once the garlic is cool enough to handle, squeeze the cloves out of the head and mash them into a paste.
- Add the warm quinoa and garlic paste to the salad bowl and mix well. Stir in the kale so it wilts slightly.
- Toss in half of the roasted vegetables and half of the apple. Top with the rest of the vegetables and apple and the pumpkin seeds. Serve with the dressing on the side.
Notes
- Add up to a third of the dressing to the warm quinoa and serve the rest on the side. Adding all of it makes the quinoa soggy.
- For a nuttier flavor, toast the rinsed quinoa in the dry saucepan until fragrant before adding the water.
- Cut the squash into even cubes so it roasts evenly. Pre-cut squash and trimmed Brussels sprouts save time.
- Baby arugula or baby spinach works in place of the kale.
- Store the salad and dressing separately in airtight containers in the fridge for 3 to 5 days.
I used pre-cut butternut squash and I’m thinking the sizes weren’t consistent as some bites could have used a longer roast. Otherwise this was delicious. I did deviate and blended the roast garlic into the dressing (with an immersion blender) – I’d probably make a bit more dressing next time, too. Also had to use baby arugula because the baby kale was not available the day before thanksgiving (surprise surprise) and it worked out very well. I sort of covered it all with the warm quinoa and veggies to give it a few full minutes to wilt.
Love it! So glad it turned out yummy for you 🙂
Such a yummy salad!